


Where The Ravens Go To Roost

by WoofTheWaffle (VesperRiver)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Assault, Attempted Bargaining, Being held at knifepoint, Blood, Dissociation, Drug Use, Emotional Abuse, Emotional Manipulation, Fake Love Confessions, Fake Names, Horses, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping?, Knives, Love Confessions, Manipulation, Memory Alteration, Memory Insertion, Minor gaslighting, Mustache Stroking, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pettyness, Post San Francisco Liveshow, Shopping, Stalking, Unhealthy Relationships, charmed food items, fake memories, for now at least, im sorry, inner thoughts, playing fast and loose with the rules of dnd yall, sorta - Freeform, unconventional use of dungeons and dragons spells
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-06-22 09:44:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15579147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VesperRiver/pseuds/WoofTheWaffle
Summary: Long ago, Governor Kalen enacted the perfect revenge on Magnus Burnsides.  But the once-broken fighter is a hero once again, famed and beloved the world over.  But as Magnus works to rebuild Ravens Roost, an opportunity arises for Kalen to once more ruin everything Magnus holds dear.In other words, an old friend(?) comes home to roost





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> im very sorry about this, i should be writing with eyes like crystal but im writing this instead. i promise ill finish the next chapter soon.

Magnus Burnsides, The Protector, savior of Faerun, one of the Seven Birds. This is what the world knows him as. But to Kalen, he knows him as the leader of the Ravens Roost rebellion. 

To Kalen, Magnus had ruined everything. He ruined his plans, his wealth, and most importantly, his power. He lost all power to Magnus, it was ripped right out of his hands as that man overthrew him right off of his rightful throne. In retaliation, he set fire to and destroyed all that Magnus held dear.

His life, his home, and most importantly, His family. He wanted Magnus to feel the same as he did when he lost everything. Empty and alone.

Now is his chance to ruin him a second time. Thanks to some memory erasing magic from some liches, Magnus doesn't know who Kalen is anymore. It's his time to strike, but he must go about this wisely... Magnus is pretty close to some rather powerful wizards after all...

he must take some time to prepare to get it all right. The fighter will be away for two days on an adventure so this gives him the perfect time to prepare  
~~  
Magnus lets out a deep sigh and smiles. Another adventure is in the books. Now all he needs is a nice shower and a nap.

He is in the process of rebuilding Ravens Roost. he started out with his own home which he finished rather quickly. Then he moved on to build homes for people if anyone ever decided to move back.

Then, of course, he started building his business next. His business will be called Hammer and Tails: A dog’s school. He will train the dogs so that people will have companions that will help them out if they need it. Whether it be for comfort, therapy or any other reason. 

Magnus quickly takes a shower so he can get into comfortable clothes and sleep. He puts on pajama pants with little dogs running around on them and a plain white t-shirt and faceplants onto the bed, ready for a good nap.

He ends up sleeping for a while and wakes up when he hears a knock at the door. Which is suspicious because nobody currently lives in Ravens Roost but him. None of the other Birds would knock, they would just barge right in. He’s fine with that. But he just saw them all not long ago.

His other friends know that he was just on an incredible sea voyage, fighting monsters and all that exciting shit. He blinks groggily and looks at the clock on the table at his bedside. It’s the middle of the night now. Why would someone be at his door in the middle of the night? 

Magnus gets up and stretches. The Knock sounds at the door again. It sounds more forceful and louder this time. Like someone is trying to grab his attention if he didn't wake up the first time they’d knocked. 

The fighter doesn’t have great night vision, so he grabs the nearest thing that could be considered a weapon, a hammer, and turns on the light before he goes to answer the door. Normally he isn't this suspicious of someone coming to him for advice on how to fight or how to start carving. 

But people don't come to him in the middle of the night for that kind of stuff.

“Whos there?” Magnus yells through the door.

“Open the door, please! I need help!” the person says, their voice… oddly familiar… like he should know who it belongs to. He tries to remember who it belongs to but all it does is make his head hurt.

Magnus hesitates a little. He feels like he shouldn't trust them. But this is a person in need. He always helps a person in need. He opens the door.

~~~

Kalen can’t help but to grin. His plan is working well so far. Feigning an injury to get inside his home was the best option. Magnus was always ready to help. 

He quickly loses the smile when the door opens, and pretends to be in great tremendous pain. Clutching his side with a look of great pain on his face.

Kalen made sure to make his disguise much more convincing by adding blood. It’s not his own blood, of course, he would never injure himself like that intentionally. Let's just say the person he borrowed the blood from wouldn’t be okay for a while.

Once the door opens, and Magnus sees what ‘condition’ he’s in, Kalen is let inside immediately.

“Are you okay!? What happened? Who did this to you?” Magnus asks quickly as he stumbles inside, putting the hammer back down onto the table.

Kalen straightens, now is his time to strike now that he's inside his home. He casts the spell, Dominate Person, quickly before the fighter can react. He can see Magnus try to resist it, but does not roll high enough to do so. 

He grins widely. He’s successfully charmed him! Maybe it won't be so hard to keep him under his control after all. 

“I'm quite alright, Magnus,” he says smoothly, “Just ran into some trouble on the way home. Nothing to be worried about.”

Magnus nods wordlessly. “Yeah, good,” he says quietly. “Glad you’re home now, uh,” he looks at him with a lost look in his eyes as if he's trying to remember something.

“Aiden, did you forget my name while I was gone?” Kalen says, frowning greatly, feigning hurt.

“N-no, I would never,” Magnus says with a look of guilt on his face. 

“Good, forgetting is a terrible thing,” he says, reaching up to gently put a bloody hand on the fighter’s face.

“You’re all bloody,” Magnus says, grimacing.

“Ah, yes, it seemed to have slipped my mind. Let's go clean up so we can go back to sleep?” Kalen suggests.

“Yeah.” Magnus smiles and heads into the bathroom with Kalen following behind him.

Kalen looks at the pictures on the walls as the two head towards the bathroom. There are many pictures of Magnus with the rest of the Birds. All happy and joking in most. He scowls at them.

He must’ve lingered there too long because Magnus calls out for him, “Aiden? Are you alright?” 

“I’m fine, just got distracted by your lovely photos,” Kalen says, forcing a smile.

The fighter’s smile briefly turns into a frown before the smile returns. “You should meet them, they won't mind meeting you!” 

“I think I would have to decline for now.” Kalen says as politely as he possibly can, stroking his mustache gently.

The smile disappears again. “Okay, whenever you would like to, you can,” Magnus says and guides Kalen to the bathroom to clean him up. 

The fighter helps Kalen take off his ruined clothes and puts them into the hamper to be washed later.

“I don’t think we should put my bloody clothes in the hamper with yours,” Kalen grimaces, “they’ll get ruined.” 

Magnus contemplates this for a moment before shrugging. “It’ll be fine.”

“I don’t think it will, Magnus,” Kalen frowns, “do you want your clothes to get ruined?” he asks, stroking his mustache.

“Stop stroking your mustache like that while you have blood on your hands, that’s gross.” Magnus takes Kalen's hands and sticks them under the sink. the water turns pink as the blood washes off of them.

Kalen takes a washcloth and soap, wiping it on Magnus's face where he had accidentally put blood earlier when stroking his face. 

Magnus, in turn, cleans the blood that Kalen had stroked into his wonderful mustache. “But still, I’d rather not ruin your clothes. We can throw those away, I wasn’t planning on wearing them again.” he says after the blood was washed away from his face. 

“I-” Magnus starts to protest but sees the look on Kalen’s face and decides against it. “Yeah,” he takes the bloody shirt out of the hamper and tosses it into the trash can nearby.

“Let me take a quick shower then I’ll join you back in bed, okay?” he tells his, ah, boyfriend? Yes, let's go with that for now.

Magnus nods and leaves the room so Kalen can have his privacy. He gets into the shower and washes all of the blood off of him. While he's in there though, he starts formulating on how to explain how he and Magnus ‘met’ and started ‘dating’ so it seems reasonable for enough for the fighter to believe. 

He goes through the list of spells he has. Modify Memory, he decides quickly, will be very useful when Magnus asks. 

Kalen steps out of the shower and dries himself off quickly, reaching into his bag for the extra pair of clothes that he had packed to put on as pajamas for now.

He exits the bathroom and heads towards the bedroom where Magnus is waiting for him.

The fighter perks up once he enters the room and scoots over so he can lie down with him on the bed. Kalen gets himself settled, and it isn't long before Magnus wraps his arms around the smaller man. 

“Can you remind me of how we met?” Magnus asks into the back of his neck.

“Of course,” Kalen turns around to face him. “How could you forget?” He asks, taking the fighters face into his hands. Luckily without any blood this time.

“I-i didn't, I just want to hear it from you,” Magnus says softly, leaning into Kalen’s touch.

Kalen grins and discreetly casts Modify Memory. he knew this spell would come in handy But now he needs to come up with a convincing story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kalen inserts some memories that aren't real

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was writing this and being like aaaaaaa because the love confession one is cute but yknow, its not real! this one is a little shorter than i wouldve liked it to be, but thats fine

Kalen places a soft kiss on Magnus’s forehead and thinks for a moment, quickly coming up with a good story to tell his boyfriend.  
  
If he's going to play off that they're dating, might as well be affectionate and use the word boyfriend. Even though he doesn’t really have any affection towards Magnus.  
  
“Okay, so you were in the middle of building one of the other houses in the town…” he begins.

~~  
  
 _It was a nice sunny day. Half a year after the day of story and song and Magnus was in the process of building another house for the city of Raven’s Roost. A place he had grown to love many years ago after his memory was erased._ _  
_ _  
_ _He was in the process of rebuilding the entire town on his own, first, he had built his own house. Then moving on to start the next building. Another house, in case, if anyone ever wanted to come and live there again._ _  
_ _  
_ _Magnus had just started his lunch break when he was approached by a man with black hair and a mustache._ _  
_ _  
_ _“You must be Magnus Burnsides! I’m Aiden Kaden,” the man stuck out his hand with a large smile on his face._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Indeed I am!” Magnus smiled at the man, “Nice to meet you Aiden!”_ _  
__  
__“What're you doing here in the ruins of this town?” he had asked._ _  
_ _  
_ _“I’m rebuilding it! I used to live here years ago when my memory was all shitty,” he said with a small smile. “I met my wife here, and led a nice life until someone… I don't remember who exactly. But they came in and bombed the place while I was away.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Aiden frowned, “I used to dream about living here when I was younger. It’s a shame what happened to it.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“It was a really nice place, you would've liked it here.” Magnus said, then turned to him, “Hey, maybe you can live in this house once I'm done with it!” he offered._ _  
_ _  
_ _“O-oh, I'm honored!” he grinned._ _  
_ _  
_ _“But it's not done yet, so maybe you can stay with me?” Magnus offered._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Sure! Are you sure it won't bother your wife if I stay with you?” Aiden asked._ _  
_ _  
_ _Magnus frowned, “Uh, well…”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“If it does I don't have to stay!” he said almost in a panic._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Well, she uh, died in the bombing.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Oh no! I'm sorry,” Aiden apologized quickly._ _  
_ _  
_ _“It’s okay, you didn’t know.” Magnus smiled._ _  
_ _  
_ _“So I can stay?” he asks excitedly._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Sure, stay as long as you’d like” Magnus offers._ _  
_ _  
_ __“Thank you.” Aiden smiles

~~  
  
“That’s how we met,” Kalen smiles down at Magnus after he finished the story, hoping this fake memory would stick.   
  
Magnus hums with a smile, eyes foggy, “Guess you never left, huh? How about when we started to date?” The memory had stuck.   
  
“I can tell you the story of that one too,” he places another kiss on the fighter's forehead, hopefully, this one will stick as well.    
  
_ Magnus had just finished building the house for Aiden, stepping away from it with a smile. He paused, admiring it in the midday sun. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Hey Mags, how’re things going with the house?” Aiden asked after he walked up to the fighter. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “It's done!” He said with a large grin on his face. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Oh! That's nice,” he said. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Now you can move right in!” Magnus said and motioned to the house. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “I like living with you, um, actually,” Aiden said awkwardly. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Magnus looked surprised, “Oh. Well, you don't have to move into that house if you want to then!”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “I like being with you.” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Really?” Magnus asked surprised, “Most people like me only because I’m famous or something,” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “I like you for you, I enjoyed living with you!” Aiden grinned and stepped closer to Magnus. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Well, uh, I think you’re pretty cool” Magnus grinned. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Aiden laughed, “I’m trying to say I like you.”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Oh, like, love?” Magnus asked. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “If you want to put it that way, yes” Aiden laughed again and took one of Magnus's large calloused hands in his.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Okay,” Magnus smiled, “because I think I do too.” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Aiden smiled back, he reached up to hold the fighter’s face in his hands. Coming as close as he possibly can, “Good because I desperately want to kiss you.” He said. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Magnus chuckled and put his hands on Aiden’s waist. “I do too,” he said and leaned down so he could kiss the shorter man on the lips, much to his surprise. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Aiden didn’t expect for his feelings to be reciprocated by the fighter so quickly. For them to kiss was something he wanted. He got what he wanted.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ The kiss was short, the fighter pulled away with a big smile on his face. Aiden was quick to return it, his face was red from embarrassment. “I didn’t really expect you to return my feelings, or hell, kiss me!”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Magnus chuckled, “Well, I felt the same way.”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ "I’m glad you do!” Aiden said happily. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Sorry if the kiss wasn’t too good? I haven’t thought about kissing anyone since my wife had died…” Magnus apologized. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Don't apologize! It was good, I liked it.” Aiden wrapped his arms around the fighter the best he could in a hug, “I haven’t kissed anyone at all.” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Well, I guess that was your first kiss then, huh?” _ _   
_ _   
_ __ Aiden smiles, “Yeah, I guess it was.”

~~   
  
“So are you glad that I was your first kiss?” Magnus asks with a huge smile on his face   
  
“Mhm.” Kalen grins forcefully, his first kiss was not with this man.   
  
Magnus kisses Kalen on the lips softly, pulling the shorter man closer to him.   
  
Kalen returns the kiss and presses into the fighter's chest. listening to the steady heartbeat that belongs to Magnus as he begins to drift off.   
  
"You came back pretty late," Magnus yawns, "You should get some sleep.”   
  
Kalen yawns in return, “You should get some too, I did wake you up.”   
  
Magnus doesn’t respond, he's already fallen asleep. Kalen follows suit not long after, drifting off into a dreamless sleep.   
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus eats breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m posting this as I’m camping! My dad is making dinner rn lol. I’m pretty proud with how this chapter turned out!
> 
> This chapter is for taziversary!

The next morning, Magnus wakes up to a pounding headache. He blinks wearily and finds that he's alone. Aiden must've gotten up early.

 

He sits up, his head begins to pound again at the thought of his boyfriend.  _ (He's not your boyfriend.) _ Like there's an odd familiarity about him that he can't quite place,  _ (you forgot.) _ not from knowing Aiden for a while. Just, a vague and distant memory.

 

Magnus tries to place where he thinks it's from but all it does it make his head hurt more than it already does.  _ (Don't trust him.) _

 

He feels as if there's someone in his head telling him that something is wrong,  _ (something is wrong) _ but it feels as if everything is okay  _ (it's not okay) _ at the moment. His head aches again as he tries to ignore this voice  _ (don't ignore me) _ in his head.

 

Magnus gets out of bed and makes his way towards the kitchen where Aiden is, his head begins to hurt a bit more.  _ (You need to leave.) _ He sits down at the table with his head in his hands.

 

“Everything alright, dear?” Aiden asks with a frown.

 

“Yeah… my head hurts like hell though.” 

 

A cup of sweet-smelling coffee is placed before him, “Here, this should help with that headache,” Aiden places a kiss on his forehead before going back to what he was making.  _ (You don't drink coffee.) _ He lifts the mug up to take a drink, it tastes as sweet as it smells.  _ (He's controlling you.)  _ Cinnamon, flavored with a hint of vanilla.

 

As soon as he drinks it, he feels… safe…  _ (you’re not safe) _ and that everything will be okay.  _ (It won't.) _ His headache starts to fade as he drinks more of it and the feeling of being okay strengthening.  _ (You're not okay.) _

 

He lets out a content sigh, and Aiden laughs. “Did you like the coffee?” he asks.

 

“It was really good,” Magnus smiles at his boyfriend.

 

“Mhm, your favorite!” Aiden places another kiss on his forehead and immediately goes to refill his cup.  _ (This is how he’s changing you. It’s not your favorite. You hate coffee.) _

 

“It… it is,” he says, mind suddenly all fuzzy for a moment as he watches Aiden return with another cup of coffee for him.  _ (He’s manipulating you.) _

 

“I’m making us some really good food for breakfast,” Aiden says taking one of Magnus's hands into his.

 

“What’re you making?” He asks trying to look over Aiden's shoulder at the stove.

 

“It’s a surprise.” Aiden leans over to kiss him.

 

“I like surprises,” he breathes as soon as the kiss ends.

 

Aiden hums affectionately, “So what are you planning on doing today?” 

 

“Working on the dog school, what about you?” Magnus asks.

 

“You said you wanted people to live here again right?” his boyfriend asks, and continues when Magnus nods, “Well maybe I could go find some people who are willing to come and stay?” Aiden asks.

 

“Holy shit, that’d be pretty great” Magnus smiles.

 

“I thought you’d like the idea,” he kisses the fighter on the cheek and goes back to what he was making in the kitchen returning not long later with two plates of waffles with fresh fruit and a mountain of whipped cream to top it all off.

 

“Holy shit,” Magnus says in awe, “It looks so fucking good.”

 

Aiden giggles, “ I knew you would like it, now eat up. You got a day of hard work ahead of you.”

 

Magnus digs into the waffles, they had a flavor of cinnamon. Much like the coffee but not quite as strong of a taste, but they were still really good nonetheless.

 

“Where are you gonna find these people to live here?” Magnus asks after swallowing the bite of waffle he was eating.

 

“Around, probably at the closest town.” Aiden answers quickly, “offer a few people a home here. it's such a beautiful place.”  _ (He's lying, he won't get anyone without hurting them first.) _

 

The fighter nods and goes back to eating his food, he finishes quickly and drinks the rest of the coffee. He gets up and puts the dishes into the sink to be washed later.

 

He goes into the bedroom to change out of his pajamas quickly, then to the bathroom to do brush his teeth and get ready for the day. 

 

Magnus leaves the bathroom to find Aiden doing the dishes, “You didn’t have to do those, I was gonna do them later.”

 

“Babe, you and I both know that if it were up to you, they would never get done.” 

 

Magnus chuckles, “Maybe,” he says heading towards the door.

 

Aiden intercepts him before he could get to it, “Where’s my kiss?” He asks stroking his mustache.

 

The fighter grins, leaning down to kiss the smaller man on the lips, “See you later, love you.” Magnus says with a smile. 

 

“Love you too. I'll just be going over to the nearest town to offer up those homes to people, okay?” Aiden says, wrapping his arms around Magnus for a quick hug.

 

“Okay, cool, I appreciate that!” the fighter smiles.

 

The smaller man returns the smile, “I should go get ready, now you should be getting to work. We both have busy days today.” Aiden places another kiss to his jaw, stroking his mustache when he pulls away. 

 

Magnus nods and heads outside, breathing in the fresh morning air. He heads next door to where the dog school is a work in progress. 

 

~~~

 

Kalen’s smile disappears when Magnus leaves the house. He wipes his mouth in disgust.

 

He knew that this would be one of the consequences of pretending to date him. The affection, the kissing, the nicknames. It almost makes the former governor shudder in disgust. 

 

But now he was alone in Magnus’s house. He had started to do the dishes so maybe he should finish them? Well, since he started them, he might as well finish them.

 

Once he actually finishes them, he realizes that he didn’t bring any more clothes other than what he ruined yesterday and what he's wearing now. So Kalen is going to have to go shopping for clothes as well when he's convincing people to come to live in this shit hole. 

 

Kalen leaves the house, breathing in the fresh air of the early morning. He hears Magnus working next door, the telltale sounds of a hammer hitting wood. 

 

The nearest town is only an hour and a half away. He doesn’t have any transportation other than walking. So he might as well leave now if he wants to be back before the day ends.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder who the voice is ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kalen goes shopping and tries to bargain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter features my own D&D character Holi (pronounced like holly), shes a human cleric who worships the death goddess Wee Jas! im pretty sure most of this chapter is kalen trying to convince holi to go back to ravens roost with him lol

It's midday when he reaches the nearest town, it's not as big as he thought it would be. 

Kalen wanders around for a bit. he checks out the local stands and dealers for anything interesting or potentially useful. He moves on when he's unsatisfied with his finds.

Eventually, he finds the local clothing store and heads inside. Kalen picks out a few shirts and pants and checks out, not bothering to waste time on trying them on.

He wanders some more. Eventually, he spots someone who looks like they could be easily convinced. A human woman with red hair. Kalen follows her from a distance, he stops when she stops to look at the bookstand and begins a conversation with the owner of it. 

She walks away seemingly disappointed. 

Kalen walks up to the stand himself, making sure to keep the woman in his sight as he browses the selection.

“So what did that woman want?” he asks nonchalantly.

The man raises an eyebrow. “Why do you want to know?” he says gruffly.

“I'm just wondering. I can't be curious?” 

The man glares and grumbles something under his breath, “She wanted a book. I have the book. But she didn't have enough money for it. Now fuck off.” 

Kalen nods, “sorry for bothering you,” and walks away, he picks up his pace to catch up to the woman. 

Luckily she didn't go very far, just to another stall to look at the assorted items it offered.

He stops and pretends to look at the fabrics at the booth that's near hers. Pretending to inspect the beautiful fabric while he watches her out of the corner of his eye.

“Hey, buddy, either you buy something or you don’t.” The stand's owner says annoyed.

“Right,” He says apologetically and walks away.

Not long later the woman walks away from the stand and makes her way through the sea of people in the market towards the outskirts of the town where she approaches a horse.

“Excuse me? Ma’am?” Kalen calls out to her, catching her attention immediately.

“Yeah? What do you want?” she says turning around.

“I saw you at the book stand earlier, you seemed interested in a certain book but you didn't buy it.” 

“Yeah, couldn't afford it at the moment. I tried asking the guy to put it on hold for me but he said no” she complains.

“Ah, whats your name by the way?” Kalen asks.

“Its Holi, why?” she squints at him.

“I was just wondering. Now, how about I make you an offer?” he says smugly.

“I'm a lesbian if you're trying to hit on me,” Holi says scoffing.

“Oh no! I'm not, I'm just trying to get you your book,” he says stroking his mustache with a smile. 

She just stares at him, “What’s the catch,” her eyes narrow.

“You have to come with me.” 

“Okay nope. Still sounds like you’re trying to hit on me,” she says turning away from him again. 

“I’ll buy you the book,” he adds quickly, hoping that Holi would accept.

“Tempting, but still no.” she begins to get up onto her horse.

Kalen drops his bags quickly and unsheaths the knife that he had on him. He grabs the back of her cloak and pulls her close, pressing the knife to her throat. He was starting to get impatient.

“You will come with me.” he says more demandingly, “I was trying to do it the nice way, but it seems like I have to use force.” 

Holi makes a noise of protest and tries to get herself out his grasp. But to no avail, she was trapped in his much stronger grip.

“I will still buy you the book. After that, you must listen to me.” Kalen demands.

“What if- what if I refuse?” Holi manages to get out.

“More than you’ve already have been? Oh, that wouldn’t do,” he says pressing the knife into her neck more. Only enough to draw a tiny bit of blood. “Now I suggest you listen, or things will be so much worse for you, and we wouldn’t want that now would we?” Kalen threatens.

Holi shakes her head no the best she can with a knife pressed to her throat.

“Good.” He takes the knife away from her throat but doesn’t release her from his hold just yet.

“What the fuck was that for? Why did you come after me of all people!” She snarls, trying to free herself from his grasp again.

“None of that now,” the former governor tuts, “or else ill have to do something worse than the knife. We wouldn’t want that don't we?” he says.

Holi shakes her head no, her expression turns from anger to fear. “Why did you offer to buy me the book if you’re just going to hold me hostage?” she asks.

“That was just a bargaining chip, my dear!” he laughs, “I needed something to convince you.”

“Don't. fucking. Call me that.” Holi says angrily again and once again tries to get out of his grasp.

“Stop trying to escape, it'll only get worse for you.” He says tightening his grip a little.

“Then let me go,” she snarls.

“Will you accept my offer?” Kalen asks.

“No.”

“Oh, too bad,” he feigns disappointment, then begins charging up Dominate Person. “Guess I'll have to use spells to convince you huh?” 

“What the hell!” she yells, struggling to get out of his grasp again. “You’re doing all of this just because I didn't want to accept your offer?”

“Oh, it's so much more than that,” he says sneering, “I hate that I have to do this but you leave me no choice,” Kalen says, not sounding a bit regretful at all. 

The former governor casts the spell, and the woman stops struggling. Her eyes go distant like she's staring off into space. He lets her go, she doesn't move right away. She failed her save.

Eventually, Holi blinks. She turns towards him with a confused look on her face and puts a hand up to her neck where he had pressed the knife. 

“Oh miss, are you alright?” he asks in faux concern. 

“I-i don't-” she says looking around in confusion.

“It's alright, I rescued you from those thugs! Oh dear,” he says looking at her neck, “looks like they got you, I can fix that up right quick!” Kalen casts a healing spell and the cut goes away. 

“Thank you, uh, who are you?” she asks, tilting her head a bit. Like she's trying to figure out who he is.

“I’m Aiden! Do you remember what you were here for?” Kalen asks, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“I-i think I was here for a book” she mutters, her brow furrows. 

“Oh! I can get you that real quick, then I can take you back to my place so you can get your bearings, yeah?” he offers with a warm smile.

She smiles back, “Okay,” she tells him what she was looking for, which was a memoir by some random lady that Kalen has never heard the name of before.

Kalen quickly heads back into town towards the book vendor, he buys it quickly and avoiding the suspicious stares that the fabric sends his way when he's there. he explains to the book vendor that he offered to pay for it for her and she accepted his offer when he had asked why he'd returned.

He heads back to where he left Holi and hands her the book he promised to get her. He can't help but smile when she brightens up upon being handed the current item of her desires.

“Thank you so much! I don't know how to repay you” she says, looking like she's close to tears. This book must've been very important to be getting such a reaction.

“You don't need to repay me,” he says patting her shoulder. Managing to convince her to follow him back to Ravens Roost was all they repaying he needed. He picks his bags up off the ground from when he dropped them earlier.

“You can strap your bags to the saddle,” Holi says with a smile as she unties the lead from the post.

Kalen nods and straps his stuff on securely. He looks up to see Holi begin to climb up to sit on the saddle and he stops her. “Hey, how about I control the horse?” he strokes his mustache, staring up at the red-haired woman halfway mounted onto the equestrian being.

She looks at him with confusion, “what do you mean by control?” she asks

“Oh, um, like me, in the saddle? Cause I know where I'm going?” Kalen tries to say.

“True,” Holi says and shrugs, climbing down off the horse.

The former governor begins to climb onto the horse himself, but as soon as he's on the horse tries to buck him off. After a few bucks, it throws him off, sending him flying. Kalen lands on his back and groans. He's lost a couple hit points from that.

“Holy shit!” Holi yells, coming over to help him up. “Do you need a heal yourself?” she asks jokingly.

He groans again, “I think I'm good.”

She leaves his side and approaches the horse calmly, it whinnies and calms down in her presence. 

Kalen slowly makes his way over to it and it whinnies angrily, bucking again slightly. He flinches, the former governor probably won't be able to approach it at all without magic. 

“Maybe we can use calm emotions? I don't have that spell but if you have it you can use it” Holi says with a shrug, “does it work on animals?”

Kalen doesn’t care if Calm Emotions works on animals, he cares if Charm Person works on animals. He knows that person is in the fucking name of the spell, he just does not give a shit and is going to try it anyways.

“Maybe” he shrugs, “it doesn’t hurt to try” he begins to cast Charm Person onto the animal. he bites his lip in anticipation. 

It takes a moment, but the horse seems to calm down. It gets that same cloudy look in its eyes when he had charmed Magnus and Holi. 

Kalen approaches cautiously approaches it again, “I’m going to get on you, don’t panic alright?” he tells the horse and rubs its snout.

This time, he's able to successfully get onto the saddle without being bucked off.

He holds out his hand to help Holi get up on to the horse as well. She sits behind him and wraps her arms around his waist so she doesn't fall off. 

They ride into the distance underneath the midday sun back towards Ravens Roost.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kalen and Holi return to Ravens Roost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i fucking love writing this fic? kalen is so fucking petty over this fucking horse yall
> 
> also! the thing about holi meeting the boys is a reference to a one shot my dnd group did, if i ever reference anything that happened with her, thats from my campaign. just so you know!

It doesn’t take as long to get back to Ravens Roost on a horse. Kalen wishes he had gotten one before deciding to do this ridiculous plan of his. Would've been much easier getting to that small town, and less wasted time.

 

Holi seems to be in awe of the currently being rebuilt town, which he rolls his eyes at, it's not that great.

 

“I heard of this place when it was in its prime years ago… my parents were actually contemplating moving here.” she says from behind him, “Then we had gotten word of a tyrant who was abusing his power and the rebellion, then the destruction. Its a shame that happened.” 

 

“Such a  _ shame _ ,” he says, feigning sadness, “Too bad that horrible,  _ horrible  _ man did that!” Kalen says overdramatically and hides a grin. He enjoyed seeing the destruction of Ravens Roost, it gave him a sense of satisfaction. 

 

He stops the horse near his and Magnus’ house and gets off, helping Holi off as well. She ties the horse to a nearby post, while he goes to check up on his boyfriend.

 

“Magnus!” Kalen calls out, “I’m back!”

 

The fighter appears out of construction site that is The Hammer and Tails and immediately wraps him in a hug. He is met with the scent of sawdust and sweat.

 

“How’d it go?” Magnus asks and releases him from the hug, a huge grin on his face. 

 

“It went well,” he lies, “I met someone! She needs a place to rest up so maybe she can stay in one of the houses?” He asks.

 

“Hell yeah!” The fighter says excitedly.

 

He takes one of Magnus’ large hands in his and leads him over to where he left Holi and the horse.

 

“Holi, my friend,” he approaches her, “I’m sure you know Magnus from the story, my boyfriend.” He tries not to grimace while saying that.

 

“Hail and well met!” Magnus sticks out his hand for her to shake.

 

“Hi! I feel like I've met you before? I don't know where though…” she says, accepting his handshake. "Like not from the Story."

 

“Really?” 

 

“Yeah, my friends and I were messing around somewhere and you, Taako and Merle I think came out of a portal? It was weird and I might've been dreaming or we were all high now that I think about it” she says frowning.

 

“Anyways,” Kalen coughs, this woman is weirder than he thought, “I invited her to stay in one of the houses you build until she's well-rested, right?”

 

She nods, “Mhm!”

 

Magnus chuckles, “Well there's the house next to ours, you can live there for now!” He points to the house.

 

“Oh! Thank you!” Holi beams and begins to lead her horse towards the house she was now going to live in. 

 

Apparently, the charm person spell had worn off because the horse gave him somewhat of a death glare while it went by. It whinnies angrily in his direction as well. 

 

Kalen knows that he probably shouldn’t approach that horse anymore without precaution and a charm spell ready to go. 

 

The fighter makes an attempt to give him another hug, but he stops him before he could and says, “Babe, as much as I love you. Please take a shower before you give me another hug.” 

 

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Magnus frowns. “Sorry,” he says sheepishly.

 

“It's alright, dear.” He says and begins to head inside, “You can go finish up what you were doing while I go help our new friend move in, alright?” Kalen says, stroking his mustache.

 

Magnus looks like he wants to protest. He looks like he's at war with himself within his own mind. Like he is trying to process what he had just said. But, he shakes himself out of it and smiles, “okay.” He says simply. Though he looks like he's going to try to give Kalen another hug but, he pauses once he sees the look that the former governor has on his face. 

 

The fighter turns around and goes right back into the worksite that eventually will be The Hammer and Tails.

 

He grins with satisfaction and heads into the house. 

 

Kalen grabs the cinnamon mixed in with a bit of sugar that he had enchanted to cast dominate person whenever someone consumes it. He puts a portion of it into a jar that he will give to Holi to make sure she stays under his control.

 

She will most definitely ruin his plans if she ever breaks free. Too much of a threat to take lightly. It’s imperative that he keeps Holi under his control.

 

The former governor walks over to the house that now belongs to Holi. As he passes by the horse, it gives him a death glare. Or the best glare that a horse can give. If one at all. 

 

He glares right back, he will not be afraid of a dumb horse.

 

Said horse whinnies angrily, bares its teeth, swishes its tail and stomps the ground with a hoof. Okay, it is definitely angry. So much for not going near it without a spell prepared.

 

Kalen doesn’t make any more eye contact or at least look afraid. You never know if horses smell fear. Not really wanting to know the answer, he walks up to the front door of the house and knocks.

 

Holi answers immediately, she looks sort of surprised that he’s at the door of her new home. Especially since she literally just moved in.

 

“Uh, yes?” she asks with confusion

 

“Sorry to bother you, but I have something for you!” He grins, "Also if you need help moving in?"

 

"Nah, I don't need help," she brightens up when she sees the jar in his hands, “Oh! What is it?” 

 

“A housewarming gift of sorts, it’s my homemade cinnamon sugar! Its the best when it’s put into coffee.” Kalen says and holds out the jar so she can take it, “I really recommend it!”

 

“Huh,” she takes the jar out of his hands, “I’ll have to try it out later, then.”

 

“Awesome! Tell me how you like it?”

 

She gives him a thumbs up and begins to close the door, but he stops her before she is able to, “I don't think your horse likes me.” He says to her.

 

“Really? But Noodle is such a good boy, he wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

 

“But he bucked me off earlier!” He argues.

 

“You spooked him,” she shrugs, “Horses are sensitive creatures.” 

 

Kalen sighs, Holi sounds like she's accusing him of breaking Noodle’s fragile horse feelings. But, in reality, Noodle just fucking hates his guts for basically no reason, “well, you’re right… I’ll go apologize to Noodle, hopefully, he will like me after that!” he says dramatically. 

 

She gives him a smile and closes the door, leaving him to go apologize to Noodle. 

 

But he will not apologize to Noodle! Apologizing to Noodle is below him!

 

So Kalen turns around and walks back to the house he shares with Magnus, strategically avoiding Noodle as he does so. 

 

The former governor notices as he's walking back that he's not hearing the obvious signs of work coming from The Hammer and Tails so he assumes that Magnus is done for the day.

 

He enters the house and sits down on the couch, waiting for the fighter to be done with his shower. 

 

But, he can't help but notice the stone of farspeech left on the coffee table. Unread messages light up the screen. Kalen only has a chance to look at it before Magnus comes out of the bathroom. But he knows one of the messages is from the one and only Taako.

 

The fighters face lights up as soon as he sees Kalen, “Hey Aiden! Does Holi like the house?” He asks

 

Kalen nods, “it looks like she does!” 

 

“Cool, cool. Now can I have that second hug?” Magnus holds his arms out.

 

He puts on a smile and goes over to his, uh, boyfriend to be hugged. 

 

And in this hug, he begins formulating his next plan.

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kalen has a headache, Magnus dissasociates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *yeets this here and runs away*

“Hey, Aiden!” Magnus bursts through the door “Loo-” 

“Magnus, please. Can you not be so loud? I have a headache,” Kalen lies, rubbing his head with a sigh.

“O-oh, sorry,” he says quieter.

“I’m assuming you want to show me something?”

The fighter grins, “I made Holi a duck!” 

“That's nice, are you ever going to make me one?” he asks.

“Yeah, I was planning on it!”

“You’re loud again.” Kalen winces. “Please be quieter,” he strokes his mustache.

“Sorry,” Magnus whispers and sits down on the couch, “I'll try not to be loud.”

Kalen puts his head into the fighters lap with a smile, “so about that duck?” he asks.

Magnus smiles, “I’d start it but you put your head in my lap, I don't want to get wood stuff all over your face.” he says and boops Kalen's nose.

“So considerate,” he smiles back and takes one of his hands.

“That’s because I'm such a good boyfriend.” 

“Mhm.”

Its been about two weeks or so since he began this complicated plan of his. He managed to snag another unsuspecting person and gave them that same gift of the ‘mind control cinnamon’ so to speak. He's a half-elf bard named Dill Finch. Interesting man. 

Dill and Holi currently live together and seem to be getting along well. 

“Are you going to make Dill a duck too?” he asks with a smile.

“Probably, after I make yours.” 

“Good, wouldn’t want him to feel left out,” Kalen sits up and instead leans against Magnus's large shoulder. 

“Should I make a duck for Noodle too? Or would that be weird?” 

Noodle doesn't deserve a duck, Kalen thinks to himself. Especially since the damn horse bit his hand the other day. “He bit me the other day, so maybe not,” Kalen says with a scowl.

“Aw c’mon Aiden, that was an accident,” Magnus says reassuringly.

Accident his ass. “Are you sure? Because I'm pretty sure Noodle doesn’t like me.” 

“He just needs to warm up to you!” 

“Sure Mr. Animal Handler,” Kalen scoffs and rolls his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Magnus asks with a concerned look on his face.

“I'm fine,” he says stroking his mustache again, “You know how headaches affect my mood,” he kisses the fighter's forehead with a smile.

Magnus’s eyes fog over for a moment as the memory takes hold in his brain, “y-yeah…” he stutters out “I remember,” the fighter whispers. 

“I'm just making sure, there's no need to feel bad about it.” Kalen puts a hand on Magnus's face and smiles softly, “I might go take a nap if this headache gets worse at all.”

“Okay,” Magnus says, his voice still barely above a whisper and leans into Kalen's touch, “I'm… sorry.” 

“For what? You forgot. its okay to forget sometimes,” Kalen says, still smiling. 

“I- yeah, it is okay.” he says, “but, it doesn't feel… okay though.” 

“Aw, yeah, I get it. Especially considering what happened last time you forgot something,” he shrugs.

“The last time I forgot something was in wonderland, I-I don’t… remember what it was.” Magnus frowns deeply.

“Maybe it was for the best? Maybe you forgot something that didn’t matter.” He suggests.

“M-maybe. Shit,” he says and puts his head into his hands.

“Woah, are you okay?” Kalen asks with faux concern in his voice.

“My head suddenly started hurting,” the fighter winces, “Like a jackhammer is trying to cut through my skull.” 

Kalen winces. “Sounds like a really bad migraine, Magno. Maybe we both could use a rest, huh?” 

“M-maybe,” Magnus stutters out again, “I- 'm gonna carve you that duck, carving usually clears my head.”

“Sounds like a good idea, I don’t want to bother you so I’m gonna rest in our room. Tell me if you need anything.” Kalen says and stands up with a stretch, “Toodles.” 

“Aiden?” 

“Hm?”

“Do you know where my stone of farspeech is? I can’t find it anywhere.”

“I don’t, sorry babe.” He lies, he knows exactly where it is. Perfectly hidden with magic. Specifically so that the fighter can’t find it.

Magnus deflates with a sigh, “If you find it let me know?”

“Of course,” Kalen says with a smile and heads off into their room.

~~~  
Magnus watches Aiden disappear into their room and his migraine lessens a little bit. But it’s still there, and so is the voice. Nagging at him. (I’m trying to help.)

His migraine has not gone away since Aiden returned that night and he doesn’t know why. (Wonderland.) Magnus takes the block of wood that he had brought in for carving and picks up the knife and begins to carve.

But he just can’t. He can only think about what he’s missing in his memory. It's only making his head hurt so much more. (Stop thinking about it.) What is he missing? Who is he missing? Why does his head hurt so much? What was he thinking about again? (You were trying to remember Him.) 

He stares down at the lump of wood that he holds in his hand. Why does being around the person he loves hurt? Magnus wonders to himself. 

The fighter tries again, this time forming a vague shape of a duck before his head begins to ache again. It hurts so much that he can barely focus. Why is this happening now? While he is making a duck for his boyfriend. (He's tricking you to be his boyfriend.). Magnus puts the duck shaped piece of wood and the knife back down on the table. 

His hands are shaking. Why are his hands shaking? What was he thinking about? (The effects of Wonderland are preventing you from remembering.) remembering what? What was he supposed to be remembering? (Him.) Who’s him? Why does he need to remember him? 

Magnus takes a few deep breaths. He does not want to panic. He shouldn't be panicking. Why is he trying not to panic? He can’t seem to remember. 

He stands up and goes outside. The breath of fresh air is a relief. The fighter takes some deep breaths. This helps. (Maybe you should go talk to Holi). Yes, maybe he should. Why is he listening to the voice in his head? Who is this voice? 

(You love me.) says the voice. He loves the voice? He loves Aiden. The ache returns. He loves the voice. The ache fades. He loves both. The ache is there, but less.

Magnus heads towards Holi and Dill’s shared house. He feels the pressure in his head decline a bit

The fighter knocks on the door and waits for either one of the two to open it.

“Magnus!” Holi grins. Holi is pretty. He likes Holi. 

“Sup dude,” Dill waves, “Woah, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. You okay?” 

“Yeah,” he smiles slightly (You aren’t.) 

“Where’s Aiden?” Holi asks

“He’s taking a nap, he has a headache.” he says, ignoring the sudden ache in his own head, “Can I come in?” 

“Hell yeah, you're always welcome here” 

“Did you like the duck?” Magnus asks. 

“I love it! I’m really impressed with how you managed to make it look like me.” She smiles.

“Well I’ve had a lot of practice with making ducks,” he laughs.

“Can you make me one?” Dill asks with stars in his eyes, his half-elven ears flicking up a little. 

“I was planning on it, by the way. Have you seen my stone of farspeech anywhere? Like did I drop it somewhere outside and I didn’t know?” He asks.

“I haven’t seen it anywhere, sorry Magnus.” Holi frowns.

“Alright,” he sighs, “thank you though.” 

“No problem! Is there anything else you need?” 

“Can I feed Noodle?”

Holi laughs, “You always want to feed Noodle, but sure. Let me grab some treats for him.” 

“Noodle is your horse right?” Dill asks.

“Mhm! He’s the best.” she grins with a bag of horse treats that she grabbed out of the cupboard.

“Is, uh. Is that a skeleton arm?” Magnus asks when he notices the arm propped up against the wall.

“Yes? Why?” the woman gives him a confused look. 

“I’m just wondering. Where did you even get it?” 

“On one of my adventures with my friends,” she says plainly and shrugs.

“Your friends sound wild,” Dill says and raises an eyebrow.

“They're so great though,” Holi smiles fondly, “I wish you guys could meet them, they would love to meet you.” 

Dill nods, “Maybe someday.” 

“Yeah. someday,” Holi frowns for a moment and seems to have a faraway look in her eyes for just a moment before she regains focus. 

“Everything okay?” Magnus asks and stops to wait for her. A frown forming on his face. 

“Oh. I'm fine, just got lost in thought for a moment,” she says. 

Magnus doesn’t know whether to believe her or not. (Don’t. None of you are fine.) But shrugs, his smile returns when he sees noodle.

Holi gives him a handful of treats and the three of them spend the rest of the afternoon feeding and grooming the horse. It got his mind off of whatever he was thinking about earlier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow my tumblr @executive-cucmber! and also my writing blog @woofswritingblog! (not much there rn tho lol)


	7. Interlude: Julia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julia worries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had this done like a month ago lmao
> 
> anyways!! plot!! were getting into the actual plot now!! i have stuff planned lol ;) also, yes, julias the voice in magus' subconscious lol

Julia has a feeling that something is wrong. But she doesn’t really know what’s wrong.

She paces around her little island and tells herself that Magnus is okay. She shouldn’t have to be worried about him. She doesn’t need to be worried about anything, there’s nothing to worry about in death.

But Julia always worries about her husband in the back of her mind, but she’s even more worried about him now more than ever.

She is pulled from her thoughts when a tear in reality in at the front of her little island and all three reapers step out. It’s nice to get company from time to time.

“Hey guys, can I ask you a question?” says when the three of them are closer to her. She fidgets slightly.

“Go ahead,” Kravitz nods.

“Is Magnus okay?”

“Yeah, babe, we saw him two weeks ago, why? Are you worried about him?” Lup asks.

“Y-yeah, I have a feeling that something is wrong, but I don’t exactly know what. It’s been bothering me.” Julia smiles uneasily.   
“Actually, now that I think of it. We have heard nothing from Magnus in a few days,” Barry frowns.

“I’ll call Taako,” Kravitz says and pulls his stone out of his pocket, “Hey Taako, yes I know. We’re fine,” he moves more towards the sea of souls.

“I’m always worried about Magnus, y‘know?” She laughs nervously, “How can I not be worried about him? He’s my husband.” she says and sinks to the ground. Tears roll down her face and she wipes them away fitfully.

“I get what you’re saying, I worry about Lup.” Barry says softy and sits down next to her, “She’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself and fighting for herself, but y‘know.”

“Aw, babe,” Lup grins and sits down on the other side of her, “but yeah, it’s totally valid to worry.” She says reassuringly

Kravitz returns and sits down in front of Julia, facing her. “So Taako said he hasn’t heard from Magnus since his last message,” he pauses, “You will not like this, uh, which was a couple weeks ago.” he winces.

Julia chokes out a sob, “And a couple weeks ago was when you saw him?”

Lup wraps an arm around her shoulders and nods, “we saw him when we were on a mission. He was with Taako, Merle and Dav.”

“It's okay Julia,” Kravitz places a cold hand on her knee, “I promise you we will make sure that Magnus is okay. If he’s not, we will rescue him.”

“Maybe he’s just busy. Maybe he’s forgetting to check his stone? I’m worrying over nothing. He’s fine.” Julia whispers and allows a few tears fall from her eyes.

“He could be,” Lup whispers back, “It’s okay.”

Julia lets out another sob and buries her face in her hands, “I know. I wish I could do something instead of being here!”

“I know, I know how it feels,” Lup says almost bitterly.

“Lup, you don’t-” Barry starts to say.

“It’s okay, I want to talk about it a little.” She cuts Barry off and takes a deep breath, “I was trapped in an umbrella for ten years. I- it was hard. I waited for so long for someone to find me. Then Taako did, on accident somehow, but he found me.” She pauses for a moment to collect herself, “I thought he would get me out, but he didn’t remember me. Neither did Magnus or Merle.”

“Because Lucretia erased everything, right?” Julia asks through her tears and looks at her.

“Yeah,” Lup nods, she’s crying now too, “I did what I could to help him, but that limited. I could only do so much, it was even harder in Wonderland.”

“A lot worse,” Barry agrees and moves to the other side of Lup so he can hold her in an embrace.

“He was suffering, they all were, and I couldn’t do anything about it and I wanted to so badly.” She leans into Barry with a shaky sigh and sniffles, “It was hard. It’s still hard sometimes, I’m not entirely used to having a body again. I’m still adjusting to everything.”

“Thank you, Lup.” Julia smiles weakly.

“You’re welcome,” she smiles back. 

Kravitz stands up and sighs, “Well, we’ll keep you updated with what we come up with and what we do. Anything else?” He asks.

“Just make sure my husband is safe.”


End file.
